Two Hector High School teachers have joined the elite group of educators in Pope County who have received nominations for a 2006 Disney Teacher Award.

Art teacher Paula Lawrence and language arts teacher Jerri Tabor received nominations for the award, which is given to teachers who exhibit creativity in teaching and inspire a joy of learning in their students, according to a press release from Disney.

Lawrence has been the art teacher at Hector for 15 years.

"My first four years, I taught K-12 art," she said. "For the last 11 years, I have taught 7-12 [grade] art, which includes fine art, studio art, commercial art and general art.

She said she has known she wanted to work with children since she was 13 years old and taught her first Sunday School class.

"My teaching philosophy is that I believe everyone can be successful at art and that art reflects the world around us," she said. "I try to make all art activities fun and relate to student interest. I use art as a catalyst to teach across the curriculum to reinforce the ideas taught in other discipline areas.

"I have been fortunate enough to travel to many other countries to study their school systems and cultures. These experiences have enabled me to incorporate this knowledge into my classroom."

Lawrence said she was very surprised an flattered to be nominated for the award.

Tabor, who teaches seventh-grade English and high school speech, journalism and drama, has been a teacher for 17 years. Fourteen of those years she have been spent at Hector, two at Sacred Heart in Morrilton and one in Dardanelle.

Making learning fun is how Tabor described her teaching philosophy.

"If the kids don't enjoy what they are doing, they shut down," she said. "In some classes, this is more true than others. For example, English and speech are required classes. Some kids come to the door the first day of class and say, 'Here I am. Impress me.' That's not that easy to do when you are conjugating verbs and writing essays for Benchmark practice."

She said she tries to be creative when making reading selections and tries to make the material as interesting as possible for her students.

"Last year, my seventh graders were responding to a speech made by Chief Joseph to the President of the United States asking for tolerance for his people," Tabor recalled.

"The kids got pretty righteous about the mistreatment of the Indians. One little girl was pounding her fist on the desk and said that we shouldn't have allowed that to happen. They got the message of that lesson!"

Tabor said she also tries to use her own personal experiences to enhance her teaching.

"I also try to teach by example," she said. "My speech students love to talk until thye have to get behind the podium. I had to give a speech this summer in front of my peers at a leadership conference for the Arkansas Education Association. I shared that experience with my speech students and let them know that I could be in their shoes, too.

"Some of them were still hesitant and didn't want to speak publicly, but they all seemed to appreciate the fact that I had a real-life use for what they had to learn in my class."

Showing students the real-life applications of what they are learning is also important, Tabor said.

"The older the kids are, the more they want to know why they have to learn this [and] when will they use this in real life," she said. "It's challenging to answer all those questions."

Although she always knew she wanted to be a writer, Tabor's dedication to her family directed her career path.

"I first wanted to become a teacher because I love to write," she said. "My first degree is from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro - a bachelor of science degree in journalism. I worked for a couple of small weeklies as managing editor and went on to work for the Arkansas Gazette.

"When I met my husband, I had gone back to school to get my certification at (Arkansas) Tech here in Russellville. I wanted to write, but the fast pace of journalism was not conducive to raising a family.

"I wanted to teach writing, and now I am. The hours aren't much better, but I can grade papers at home, so I can do what I love and raise my kids, too. I later obtained a master's degree in English at Tech. I have continued to take classes throughout my career and am presently a National Board candidate. So I guess you could say that I am a lifetime learner."

Tabor and her husband, Kendall, have two children -Brandon, 14, an eighth grader at Russellville Junior High, and Melody, 11, a sixth grader at Russellville Middle School. Kendall Tabor teaches elementary music, band and choir at Western Yell County.

"My children and my students are aware of and sometimes the subjects of my learning projects," Tabor said. "They learn this way, too. If the adults in a child's life value education, the child is more likely to value their own learning.

Receiving this nomination is pretty flattering, especially since this is the second time I have received such a nomination. It's an honor to be well thought of by whoever nominated me."